The Royal Road to Health Part 14

Of all diseases, consumption is the most widespread and destructive to human life. Over 3,000,000 people die annually from this disease. It is not only an acquired disease, but surely preventable, and in its early stages, curable. In the majority of cases it commences just beneath the collar bone, because here is the part of the lung that is least used, the reserve portion, not much used in ordinary breathing.

In most of the avocations of life the shoulders are drawn forward, thus cramping the lungs, and weakening them, then the consumption bacillus finds lodgment. A person with healthy lungs might inhale millions of tubercle bacilli daily with impunity, hence the inference is plain--to prevent consumption, distend the lungs fully, by deep breathing, hundreds of times daily.

TREATMENT.

The first thing to be done (if it is in your power) is to go to some quiet country place where you can be sure of the three following essentials--a dry location, pure air, and a plentiful supply of fresh, rich milk. There is an almost universal consensus of opinion now that the open air treatment is of the greatest benefit; therefore, live as much as possible out of doors and sleep with the doors and windows of your room wide open. Never mind, if you have to pile on bed clothing to keep warm--the prime essential is unlimited fresh air. You will soon get used to it, and you are playing for a big stake--health. If it is impossible to go to the country, then carry out this treatment as closely as possible at your home. It is absolutely necessary to improve the nutrition of the body, that is, to stimulate the digestion and absorbent functions of the stomach and intestines, therefore dispense with all so-called cough medicines. The drugs used to stop a cough are invariably sedatives. Now, no sedative or nauseant is known that does not lock up the natural secretions, and thus lessen the digestive powers. Flus.h.i.+ng the colon with the "Cascade" is the first step to improve nutrition. This unlocks the secretions and prepares the stomach for food.

Next, flush the stomach. Then give the stomach food that the organs can digest and a.s.similate.

For this purpose nothing equals good, rich, fresh milk. Live on milk exclusively for a month at least, taking a tumbler full every half hour--the object being to supply the body with food easily digested, quickly absorbed, and highly nouris.h.i.+ng; yet at the same time, in small quant.i.ties, that will not overtax the stomach. You will quickly gain in weight, and after a month or two you may commence on solid foods partly, choosing such articles as the Salisbury steak (see treatment for obesity), pure cod liver oil, sweet cream, eggs, toasted whole wheat bread, etc. Ten drops of beechwood creosote morning and night, on a fifty cent respirator, is all the drug treatment necessary, or useful. An external bath for those able to walk about, and a "sponge off" for those confined to bed, must not be neglected.

The skin exudes more matter and is more likely .to become clogged in disease than in health. Practise deep breathing a.s.siduously. Improved nutrition is your salvation, and that must come through exercise, diet and fresh air. Spend all the time possible in the open air and in the sun's rays whenever practicable, and pay special attention to the use of the "Cascade." Remember, the cure is in your own hands--depends upon your own courage and perseverance.

CATARRH.

This is a disease resulting from cold. It is the exception rather than the rule, to meet with individuals in our Northern climate who are not afflicted with it in some form or other. It is easier to prevent than cure. Strong, well developed lungs, a clean colon and skin, and catarrh, are seldom found together in the same body. Perfect lung development and a clean colon will alone effect a permanent cure. Keep the feet warm and dry, never go into a hot room and sit or lie, but sleep in a cool, dry atmosphere. The disease takes two different forms, nasal and throat. Nasal catarrh is first caused by inflammation of the membrane of the nasal cavities and air pa.s.sages, which is followed by ulceration, when Nature, in order to protect this delicate tissue and preserve the olfactory nerves, throws a tough membrane over the ulcerated condition. At this stage it is designated chronic catarrh.

TREATMENT.

Use the "Cascade" regularly every day, with water as hot as can be borne, and guard scrupulously against taking cold. The membrane must next be removed, and for this purpose we most unhesitatingly recommend the J.B.L. Catarrh Remedy.

Half a lifetime of careful research has been devoted to perfecting this admirable preparation, which to-day stands first as an effective agent in removing this membraneous obstruction. It is composed of several kinds of oils, and gently but effectually removes the membrane that Nature has built over the inflamed parts, while its emollient character soothes and allays the inflammation. These oils are not absorbed into the system, but act only locally.

The method of application is as follows: A small quant.i.ty is placed in a gla.s.s douche (especially manufactured for the purpose) and inhaled, allowing the fluid to pa.s.s up the nostrils and into the throat, using the nostrils alternately.

There is no case of catarrh so obstinate but will readily yield to this treatment. But as a preventive of all this keep the colon clean and pay attention to lung development.

ERYSIPELAS.

This disease arises from impure blood. A peculiar poison is generated, which declares itself in the form of a red, puffy swelling, closely resembling a blister, and very much like it to the touch. If the finger is pressed upon the inflamed part, it will leave a white spot there for an instant. It most usually attacks the face and head. In the majority of cases it arises from an obstructed colon, a fermentation being generated there from the long retained faecal matter, consequently a positive and sure cure is to thoroughly cleanse that organ. As a local application take loppered sour milk and apply it to the inflamed parts, or, if not this, the next best thing is hop yeast mixed with charcoal to the thickness desired. The lactic acid in sour milk is a direct antidote to the poison of erysipelas.

DYSPEPSIA.

This disease does not come by chance. Infection or contagion can never be held responsible for it. It is the penalty which Nature inflicts upon you for violating physiological laws. Do not be deluded by extravagantly worded advertis.e.m.e.nts into the belief that any nostrum has been or ever will be invented that can possibly effect an immediate cure. You must entirely abandon the habits that induced it.

You must masticate your food thoroughly--allowing the saliva to mix with it, not bolt it, and then wash it down with copious draughts of tea, coffee or water. This superabundance of fluid only serves to distend the stomach and impede digestion. A change of diet is necessary, but not so essential as a change in the habit of eating.

Dyspepsia is more or less catarrh of the stomach. Its lining becomes coated with a slimy mucus that arrests the action of the glands, coats the food and prevents the gastric juice from acting upon it.

TREATMENT.

For the first week, use the "Cascade" every night, the second week, each alternate night; thereafter, as occasion seems to demand. Drink a gla.s.s of hot water, not less than half an hour before each meal, especially before breakfast. The breakfast should commence with a liberal amount of good, ripe fruit, preferably oranges or grape fruit.

This may be followed by a small quant.i.ty of some good preparation of whole-wheat: possibly, a lightly boiled or poached egg and a slice of crisp, dry toast, or whole-wheat bread. Drink nothing with the food, but take a gla.s.s of hot milk half an hour later. Good, lean beef or mutton, broiled or baked, is easily digested, and may be eaten moderately at midday. If faint between meals, take a gla.s.s of hot milk, with a raw egg beaten in it. If the stomach is very sensitive, it is better to eat five or six meals a day, of a few ounces, than to overtax the stomach. Masticate every mouthful of food thoroughly, and practice deep breathing a.s.siduously, it is an important aid to digestion. This method of treatment, if faithfully persisted in, will cure the worst case of dyspepsia, with all its attendant misery.

RHEUMATISM.

Both chronic and acute rheumatism are diseases of the blood, due to an excess of uric acid. The presence of this acid is due to excessive and imperfect action of the liver. Imperfect nutrition and deficient excretion are the primary causes, and the result is that the blood becomes loaded with poisonous matter. The trouble manifests itself in the joints, toes, ankles, knees or hands, but the seat of the disease is elsewhere.

TREATMENT.

The first thing to be done is to promote the conversion of acid by oxidation and increased activity of the liver. The best way to accomplish this is by the daily use of the "Cascade," first with hot water, then with cool water, doubling the antiseptic tonic. Do this twice a day for a week, then once a day for a month. Take a Turkish bath daily for a time to restore the functions of the skin. Rub the disabled joints with hot, oily applications, followed by ma.s.sage and pressure movements. The diet should consist largely of green vegetables, mutton and whole wheat bread, or toast, eggs, milk and fruit. Avoid pastry and starchy food, such as potatoes, beans and white bread. A cup of hot water, not less than half an hour before breakfast, should not be omitted.

This treatment will speedily cure the worst cases.

TYPHOID FEVER.

The chief seat of this terribly prevalent disease is in the stomach and intestines, particularly the colon. It is a foul, bacterial disease, and originates in filth. The germs may be taken into the system in impure water or milk, inhaling the gases from defective drains or by eating food which has absorbed such gases. Once in the system, the bacteria must have decayed matter to feed upon, therefore it is impossible for a person who is clean both inside and out to take typhoid fever, there being no facilities for the germs to breed and multiply. A peculiar secretion from the colon, mixed with the faecal matter of long standing, induces a fermentation that generates a putrid smelling gas. This fermenting gas is the home of the bacillus, and from it millions of germs are multiplied and pa.s.s into the circulation. In this fermentation a peculiar worm is bred, which is the cause of ulceration in the bowels of typhoid patients.

TREATMENT.

To give physic in a typhoid fever case is a grave mistake. Instead of a.s.sisting Nature, it more probably hastens the death of the patient.

Knowing the cause of the disease, common sense tells us that the first thing to do is to check the multiplication of the germs by removing the putrid matter in which they breed. When the symptoms first appear give the patient a warm water emetic. Drink until the stomach throws it back. Do not be afraid to drink. If the stomach is obstinate, use the index finger to excite vomiting. This washes out the contents of the stomach, which will be found fermenting and full of bacteria. Then give him a large cup of hot water--very hot--with a little salt in it.

Let the patient rest for an hour or so after vomiting, then use the "Cascade" with water just as hot as the hand will bear, so it will not scald. Let him retain the water from ten to fifteen minutes if he can.

Next, the patient must be sweated, to open up the pores of the skin, and for this nothing equals the wet sheet pack. Roll the patient in a sheet wrung out of cold water, on top of this a couple of blankets and a comfortable. At his feet place hot bricks in flannel, on his head a towel, wrung out of cold water. Give him plenty of fresh air. When he has perspired freely take him out of the pack, wash him with warm water and soap, rub him down, give him a drink of cold water and put him to bed. Repeat the injections daily, using tepid water. In cases of extreme weakness the treatment must be modified. Let the patient have all the cold water he wants to drink and give him plenty of fresh air. Use flus.h.i.+ngs daily, also the external bath, remembering in the latter to use cold water when the fever is high, and he will speedily be restored to health. Let him eat nothing until Nature calls for it.

The best test of hunger is a piece of stale dry Graham bread.

BILIOUS FEVER.

This disease generally makes its appearance with one or more chills, sickness of the stomach and more or less fever. The tongue has an ill- looking yellow coat and food is unacceptable. The cause of all this, to an intelligent mind, is perfectly clear. The colon is clogged and the acids in the stomach and the duodenum, together with an abundance of secretions from the liver, have no outlet. In this condition a slight cold will close up the already overworked pores of the skin and turn the tide of corruption into the stomach, lungs and kidneys, and bilious fever is the result, for, Nature being unable to get rid of the filth by the ordinary methods, resorts to her last expedient, of burning it up.

TREATMENT.

The remedy is obviously simple. Use the "Cascade" and open the pores.

Wash the stomach, take two or three hot injections daily, and a hot sheet pack. This treatment, with baths and rubbing, will cure an ordinary case of bilious fever in about three days. Avoid all drugs.

Nature will call for food when it needs it.

LA GRIPPE.

This is the modern name for influenza. It resembles an ordinary cold in its symptoms, but is far more violent in its effects. Acute pains in the head and kidneys are symptoms that are usually present. If neglected, it may develop into pneumonia, or consumption. It is both epidemic and contagious, and thousands of victims were left in its trail when it swept over the United States and Europe during the winters of 1890, 1891 and 1892.

TREATMENT.

Possibly you are not aware that this disease is almost invariably accompanied by constipation, but it is a fact, nevertheless, consequently, the internal bath is the first remedial process to be resorted to. Make them hot and copious, and use them daily, for three days at least. Next, relieve the internal congestion by opening the pores of the skin. To do this, use the Turkish bath (see end of book), take it at night, drink a gla.s.s of hot lemonade, and go to bed. Tuck yourself up warm. Doubtless it will make you sweat, but you need that. In the morning take a bath and a good rub down. Drink a cup of hot water half an hour before breakfast, and let that meal consist of plain food, soft-boiled eggs, oatmeal, Graham bread and fruit-- oranges, if procurable. Two days of this treatment will put La Grippe to flight, but the better plan is to prevent it by keeping the colon cleansed.

DYSENTERY.

This is a disease of the colon. The retention of faecal matter in the folds of the colon inflames the parts until they become dry, then the soft evacuations dry on the sensitive mucous membrane. These secretions produce a peculiar acid, which in its turn breeds worms, and these, in the early stages of their existence, eat into the foreign matter and even into the mucous membrane itself, causing what is known as dysentery.

TREATMENT.

In either the acute or chronic cases, the patient must be treated lying down, with the hips elevated above the shoulders. For this purpose our Fountain attachment is necessary with the "Cascade." This will relieve the pain and congestion in the lower part of the colon.

In acute cases do not let the patient sit up a moment. Use a bed pan always. Flush the colon with hot water, letting it flow gently, and add a little salt to the water. After the discharge, follow with an injection of two ounces of vaseline oil, which should be retained as long as possible. This is an emollient, and will soothe and heal the ulcerations.

During the past seven years we have been instrumental in curing uses of dysentery contracted during the Civil Ware and solely by the foregoing treatment.